Other Ideas and Inventions

Heli-Launch & Heli-CamI have also designed an apparatus which will enable my helicopter to launch either one or two foam wings via a 'twin claw-like device' mounted underneath the undercarriage. The aim of this is to develop a competition, be it pylon, aerobatics or whatever, incorporating the Heli-Launch System. As well I am developing both a video and still shot camera system. Trials are presently being conducted on all of these ideas. When they are all working perfectly, I will share with you the finished products. Stay tuned!

Electroni-CompCombat, Pylon, Limbo. You name it. The sky's the limit. Then again, maybe there is no the limit.

Combat: Some time ago I got into combat - slope soaring style. Whilst it was a lot of fun and increased ones reflex skills quite dramatically, it did have its downsides. It could take ages before getting a strike, then when you did, usually the other person would gain control of their glider (the one you hit) fairly quickly and continue flying. As is was almost impossible to know who hit whom anyway, the general rule was that in order to score a point, someone's glider had to crash to the ground. Provided you were flying foam wings or the like, this was not such a problem, although eventually your glider would need some repair no matter how strong you think it was. So I decided there had to be a better way to do combat. So I design a system, then hoped for an electronic genius to come along and advise me on the best way of going about it. Well fortunately I found such a genius - well I thought so anyway. His name is Steve and he is very clever when it comes to dabbling in electronics. The criteria needed was lightweight hardware, durable construction, consistent operation, audible from a long distance, affordable price, accessible parts, quick to re-produce and easy to install into an aircraft. Well I' m getting a headache just thinking about it. The answer! A personal alarm. Sounds too easy doesn't it. The only problem we had to overcome was to enable the alarm to stay on for a designated time - say 5 seconds, after the strike had been made. Steve overcame this problem by altering the system with a clever piece of circuitry that was built into the unit.The aircraft has a series of stick-on aluminium strips layed along the front, top and bottom of the leading edge of the aircraft. It also has a seven metre tail made from control line.

Pylon: Of course this system now congers up all sorts of ideas for the radio control enthusiasts. It could mean for instance, that in pylon racing, the flag-persons could be made redundant. Instead, a live electronic pole could be placed at one end. The aircraft would be required to make contact with the pole, in which case an alarm would sound, thereby letting the pilot know that he can return his aircraft.

Various Applications: Other events such as limbo, or something that you may simply make up on the day, could use this system. The best thing about electronicomp is that it is conclusive, reliable and means more people fly and less people organise. If you know of a more efficient system such as a laser-guided device, your information and accompanying photo/s would be most welcome.